The Ultimate Weapon
Chapter One:
I'm a what now?
~Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed. ~Irene Peter
~The circumstances of the world are so variable that an irrevocable purpose or opinion is almost synonymous with a foolish one. ~William H. Seward
Kira Sabers twiddled the pencil in her hand, staring blankly at the page of her homework. Most of it was done, and it wasn't very hard, just time-consuming. Glancing to her left, she caught visual of the setting sun, telling her the time was about seven o' clock. To think, not even an hour ago she was rallying volleyball and winning the inner school tournament with her team. She wasn't the best player, but she enjoyed being around her friends. The actually volleyball players where out at State, so the P.E. teachers decided it would be a bit of fun, and it was. Catching a stray of brown hair between her fingers, she twisted it behind her ear before turning back to work.
"If the sum of fourteen has an even number in it, what is the possibility the other number is also even? Also, the sum of x has the two same numbers, and added with a third, the sum equals 27, what are the three numbers?" She murmured to herself. Not even a moments thought and she scribbled down the answer. Yes, she was in a normal math class, but only because she was too lazy to actually participate in a higher class. Not to mention the fact she had already learned the basic material about two years ago, or sophomore year. Currently a senior, Kira is 17 and ready to be on her own. She'd be 18 by the end of the summer, and she would be able to make her own decisions. She already had her collage picked out, payment plans, and—after a long and serious discussion that ended in begging-she would be moving out in just about a year.
Only the sound of her pencil scrawling across the page broke the silence gripping her house, and not for the first time, Kira felt as if the world where holding it's breath, waiting for an apocalyptic moment to occur.
A soft thumping came from outside her door, and with a short click, the door opened. Sparing only a glance, Kira caught sight of her three-year-old Shiba-Inu, Mercedes. As the yellow-colored dog padded to her side, Kira laid her hand down to scratch behind his ears.
"Hiya mutt, who's a good boy?" With a bark, Mercedes lied next to the desk and put his head in his paws. Kira continued with her work. After three more problems solved, Mercedes' head popped up, his ears perked and he tilted his head to the side. A high whine came from his throat. Kira glanced down.
"What's the matter honey?" Mercedes' ear twitched to show acknowledgement, and another whine soon followed. Knowing something was wrong, Kira stood up, and so does Mercedes. The dog rushes towards the door and down the hall, Kira slowly following. She peers over the wood railing on her left, seeing Mercedes has already made it down the flight of stairs three feet ahead of her, and was barking wildly in the living room. He leapt up onto the tri-section couch, staring out the wide window, and yelped again.
A little worried, Kira jogs to her dog, crawling next to him and looking out the window. A black car had pulled into the cul-de-sac, but it didn't turn into any house, just stayed in the middle of the road. The lights flickered off. Kira knew her mom wasn't expecting anyone, so she purred soft, reassuring words into Mercedes ear. The dog continued to whine as a person emerged from the vehicle. He was tall with dark hair that ran down the sides of his jaw and connected at the top of his head, which seemed to be parted to two sides. He looked tough with his large muscular arms, and he had a wild like look to his face. He helped a seemingly older gentleman from the car. He was in a wheelchair, and bald, with a welcoming and wise face. They conversed for a minute, the wild-looking one glancing around in suspicion. Then they proceeded up the pavement that lead to Kira's house.
Her heart beating faster, Kira leapt from the window and rushed to the door, unlocking the dead bolt, but keeping the small chain lock on. After a second thought, she took that off too. As she pulled off the little chain from it's hook, the doorbell sounded, making Kira jump in shock. Hesitating for only a second, she opened the door. Mercedes barked wildly, trying to push past Kira's legs. She blocked him from sight.
"How may I help you?" She asked politely, her voice higher pitch, as it was when she met with strangers. She held the door firmly in her hand, pulling it behind her so they could not see into her home. It was only a simple precaution, but it kept many more strangers from coming in and negotiating some product they had then when the door was wide open.
"My name is Charles Xavier," The bald man introduced himself, sticking out a long fingered hand towards him and then towards his wild-looking friend as he continued. "And this is Logan. Tell me child, is Kira Sabers here?"
Narrowing her hazel eyes, she paused again and answered. "Yes, I am she. Is there a problem sir?" Kira realized absentmindedly that her grip on the door tightened, and her heart skipped a beat. Thinking quickly, she thought back to see if she had done anything wrong, or any reason why these men would be at her house. Charles only smiled, but shock was in his eyes. He obviously wasn't expecting Kira to be who she was.
"Kira, may we come into your home?" He asked politely, but with an authority that made it doubtful that any one person should refuse. Hesitating for only a heartbeat, she nodded and opened the door, pulling Mercedes by his collar. The dog sat down, panting happily, his tail wagging eccentrically. The two men entered, Charles glancing about before moving towards the living room, while Logan took a longer time looking before joining his friend. When Kira was about to ask why they had come, she heard her mother coming up from behind her—probably from the downstairs, making her way through the wooden door and through the kitchen.
"Kira honey, who was at the-" She had rounded the corner of the kitchen, seeing the scene in front of her made her stop dead. Her mother's eyes where wide in shock and her mouth hung open slightly. She was staring at Charles and Logan. They stared back, Charles too in shock, while Logan kept his guarded expression.
"My Lord," she breathed quietly. "Charles?" She had gone very pale, and she started to reach for the couch, leaning on it for support. Confused by the reaction her mother had, Kira switched her gaze between the two men and her mom. Slowly her mother sank down into the brown cushions.
"Yes, Kathy. It's me." Charles said very slowly, like he was trying to calm her with only his voice.
"I-I didn't think you would come. I mean-I thought-" Kathy struggled to speak, too flabbergasted to string coherent sentences together. Kira had never seen her mother this way, and was upset and a little angry towards the culprits. She glared at them as she went over to her mother, letting Mercedes go. He jumped onto the couch right next to Kathy, licking her face and making small whimpers. She scratched behind his ears.
"Mom, what's going on?" Kira asked warily. Her mom had put her face into her hands, slightly sobbing. Charles wheeled over to her.
"Kathy, it'll be all right. Kira is safe. No harm shall come to her; the X-Men will make sure of that." He crooned, putting his hand on Kathy's shoulder.
"What's going on?" Kira demanded again, standing up in apprehension. What did Charles mean by that? No harm shall come to her? Why would she be harmed? "Wait—isn't the X-Men that mutant group? Mom, what's going on!?" Kira clenched her fists, her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the two men. Rage surged through her body. What was with all this secrecy? Her mom had stopped sobbing, and took a deep breath before looking to her daughter.
"Kira, sweetheart, I'm psychic, you know that, right?" Her mother started, looking Kira in the eye. Kira nodded. It was true, but that was just how her mother was. That wasn't anything terrible. There had been psychics' for generations before her mother was born. "Well, in order for that to happen, that must mean that I have a mutant gene." She continued. Kira didn't know where this was going, but she hoped it wasn't going to be as bad as her mother was making it out to be by going so slow in the explanation. "Kira, darling, Charles and Logan also have mutant genes." Kira stiffened and glanced at them again, biting the inside of her lip. That would explain why she felt so leery of them. "Charles Xavier owns a school for harboring mutants to train them to control their power. You've heard of the 'Xavier Institute for Higher Learning', right? Or, maybe you would know the 'Institute for Gifted Youngsters' better. It was renamed a bit ago."
Kira stared at her mother blankly. Yes she knew about the institute, but what was the point of all this?
"Honey, Charles has a way of figuring out who is and is not a mutant, by this special machine called Cerebro. When a mutant's powers emerge, then Charles can go and explain what's happened to the person and offer them a safe place to stay, where they won't be judged. Then he can take them to the school and teach them to control their powers, so they won't be a threat to themselves or anyone else. Normally, when a child hits puberty, their powers emerge. When you showed no sign of any powers, I didn't think you'd have any, so I didn't say anything."
Kira gave her mother a confused look. She didn't have any powers, so what was the point of all this? When she didn't say anything her mother continued.
"Kira, the fact that Charles is here means that Cerebro picked up some sort of power from you. It means you are a mutant."
This caused Kira to burst into laughter. She clutched her sides and wiped a few tears that threatened to fall.
"No, seriously, what's going on?" She laughed. The solemn face her mother gave her proved no joke. She stared at the women incredulously. "You can't seriously think that I'm a mutant." She scoffed a bit. Her mother kept that same stare, and when Kira glanced around, she saw both Logan and Charles had the same, tolerant but cautious face. "No, no, no, NO! I won't believe it! I can't—I don't have any powers!" She shrieked on the brink of panic. "You have to believe me! I don't have anything wrong with me!"
"Kira, being a mutant isn't anything wrong." Her mother spat, standing up and trying to grab Kira's wrists as she flailed them about.
"No! Don't touch me!" She hissed back, wrenching herself away from the woman she thought had loved and cared about her. "I'm a normal teenager that's almost an adult! I'm going to go to normal college, with normal people doing normal things and live a normal life! I'm not a mutant!" She stood toe-to-toe with Kathy, glaring through hate filled eyes. Her mother went to say something back, when Kira blinked and a haze filled the edges of her eyes.
Donavon, Kira's ex-boyfriend, had pulled up to her house in a red, shiny, new jaguar. She saw herself standing firm and saying something when he struck out at her and caught her against the jaw. He loomed above her when his jaguar exploded, flinging him into the grass as the flamed debris pierced her skin. A loud scream. "KIRA!!"
Kira blinked again, her mother still glaring at her, but Kira's mouth had dropped open, and she could feel her heart thudding painfully against her chest. Almost involuntarily she pulled the back the tan curtain blocking the window. A red jaguar was pulling in front of the black car. The same car she had just seen. It pulled to a stop, and a tall, muscular, threatening looking man stepped from the door. His blonde hair stylishly curled, and dark glasses covered his eyes. She'd recognize his build anywhere. It was Donavon.
"I'll be right back." She muttered unhappily. Her bad day had just got a lot worse. Instead of going all the way to the car, Kira stayed on her front porch, warily watching the vehicle.
"Kira! My baby, my bitch, how life treating you?" He shouted, trailing a happy hand over his car.
"I told you we're done, Donavon. You have some nerve showing your face around here." She spat back, clenching her fists and holding them under her arms. Ever since she denied him from trying to get into her pants, he'd been nothing but a nuisance...and a stalker.
"Oh, come on baby, don't be that way! Come back to me!" He crooned, taking only a small step from his car. "Besides, that whore friend of yours Anastasia told me you wanted me back. After I was done with her of course." He chuckled. Kira snapped. Stiff legged in fury, she stormed down the path of her home.
"Don't you dare come to my house and rag on my friends! I should beat your face to Mars!" she snarled. Now she was close to him, and the smell of his cologne disgusted her to the core. "Besides, if you think you can waltz in and pick me up off my feet, your wrong! You'll find your equipment will be removed and burned!" She snarled, glaring up at him. "What little one you have that is!" She didn't see his hand, but she felt it across her cheek. Not expecting the hit, she fell to the ground. Donavon loomed over her, eyes crinkled in fury when something clicked ominously. The car behind him exploded, flinging the assailant forward into the grass. Just like her vision, Kira heard her name screamed and waited for the flaming metal to make contact with her skin. One hit her shoulder, another her leg, one her wrist, and two her arm, while the force knocked her head against the concrete with a deafening crack. The burning she felt was nothing compared to the throbbing headache. She felt herself get picked up, and her mothers' frantic voice rang too close but too far away. Charles' voice was clear, and it took her a minute to realize the voice came from inside her head, not from outside.
"Kira, your head is just fine. You have a small concussion, but it's not cracked open. I need you to open your eyes. Can you do that for me?" She hadn't realized her eyes had closed. Trying to obey, and her eyelids feeling like stones, she blinked. Logan had picked her up and was now setting her down, the muscles under his shirt hidden, while she was laid across a bed. Her mother had grabbed a First-Aid kit, ripping it open but not figuring out what to do first, when, unconsciously, Kira reached out and grabbed Logan's hand. Automatically, she felt the burns ease, and the headache slip away. She blinked, her eyes widening as she recovered. Charles noticed this.
"My dear, it seems that you have the ability to absorb ones powers." He looked at Logan, who was shocked, but otherwise unscathed. "It doesn't do any harm to the person whose abilities you are taking..." he trailed off, looking at Kira with the most intrigued look. "Kira, I believe you should come with me, so we can work out the mystery of you power together. Who knows what your abilities could do for others? You could be able to help people."
Kira paused. What should she do? By mastering her power, she might be able to help people in need. And nothing was greater than that, right? Then she realized that by going with these two men, she'd have to face even more mutants. After contemplating for a while, she sighed.
"Do I really have much of a choice? I'm not exactly fit to be 'normal' anymore." Charles and Logan exchanged a glance, and Logan pulled out a slick, black, cell phone. Dialing a quick number, his voice buzzed into the phone as Kira laid her head back down. As she lulled to a sleep, she dreamed of what her new life held in front of her.